If you could have one former Buckeye on the current team, who would it be?

[sandgk]

Answering this in light of the needs of the '05 squad I went with Player not listed above.

If I had voted for a RB it would definitely have been Byars over George. Without taking anything away from Eddie and his great Heisman trophy year Byars was, when healthy, as stout and well rounded a back as any ever in Scarlet & Grey. Tempting though it would be to have the combined pass-catching and great running capabilities of Byars available to this squad, I feel one area in need of solid play THIS YEAR is the Tight End spot.

In that vein of thought I propose John Frank as a quality addition to the '05 team. There may have been a better blocking tight end at Ohio State, there may have been a more intelligent route-runner and dependable 3rd down target. If so, I never saw them play.
John was built like 2 brick [censored] house doors, and his line play made good use of these physical attributes. JF was a very bright pre-med student and in the final 2 years of suiting up for the Buckeyes was a solid and oft-times unsung contributor to the team.

Certainly there are other tempting additions that could be made from that list and I respect the choices suggested by others -- particularly in the O-line (Pace) and RB spots.

Aside from Frank others that could help this year would mostly be on the Defensive side of the ball -- particularly Tatum in a safety role, or any of a number of pass rushing Defensive Ends.

And observations on ommissions or limited scores -- Anyone find it interesting that few ever suggested that we get a QB with the acknowledged smarts, leadership and athletic skills of Rex Kern back under center? And in a radical departure from common sentiment, how about the contribution that a silky smooth deep threat receiver ala Warfield might make? I realize we feel we may be loaded at Flanker and SE but from all I am told Paul's talent was extraordinarily special. Perhaps sufficiently special to permit us to use Ginn's talents more exclusively as a lock-down cover corner?

[Bestbuck36]

Since we have a tremendous amount of athletes this year I'm looking to shore up our weakest position. I think the OL will be much better and top 10 in the country at seasons end. In that case Pittman and Haw have pretty good vision so they should produce. The WR's are stacked. QB will eventually be settled and I think will be fine. That leaves the defense. LB'ers as everyone knows is maybe the best as a group we've ever had! The defensive backfield is good to great if one corner steps up. We have 5 names to fill the one corner spot possibly. If the Underwoods step up or Welch comes through we're looking good. That leaves us the DL and special teams. I think our punting will be pretty good. Our K will not match Nuge, however, he shouldn't have to. I'll address the D-line. By all accounts the D tackle position is looking strong. Kudla on one end if healthy plays the run and pass equally well. What we are lacking is that dominating end that turns plays inside and pressures the quarterback on every play. I'm down to two players I'd want this season.

1. Mike Vrabel- Terrorized offenses on play after play his whole career especially that senior season. How can you go wrong with the all-time sack leader?

2. Will Smith- The athletes at LB would be free to roam and dominate with Will taking up two to three guys every play. Great all around defensive player.

Shoring up the D-end position would also take more pressure off the D-backs so anyone we put at the other corner should get help and perform well.

Just my take here.

[Renard]

Vprhis thanx for the edit portion. It is tough to say what a great player from the past could accomplish today. That's why a current NFL player (Pace) leads in this vote. (It would be hard to vote against Hicks, but I digress).

Anyway my analogy might not be a good one. But it was Liddell Hart who wrote a book on military strategy who said. All the great generals excelled at strategy and getting the best out of their people...the implements of war have always remained basic...

We will never know, but it's fun to imagine what if; and even discuss it pointedly. I've enjoyed the discussion with you but I know there is something we both agree on. Go Bucks!!!

[CleveBucks]

Gimme Nuge for another year and I think we're set.

[Holy Buckeye!]

Big Daddy

[jwinslow]

I'm changing my original answer.

I'd go with Will Smith without a doubt. I think Haw/Pittman will be solid, and our OL seems like it will get the job done. What we need is a freak on the outside (and if our current guys are that then it would not hurt to have another one to rotate in and keep them fresher).

If our DL can find one strong replacement for Fraser, we're going to dominate teams this year.

For any team, I'd take Pace. He changes the dynamic of the game for rushing and passing.